Out of the past: Feb. 18

1996

Without fanfare or celebration, new Highway 74 from Kingshighway to Sprigg Street is scheduled to officially open to traffic tomorrow; motorists traveling the new highway will encounter only one stop: West End Boulevard, where a traffic signal with in-ground sensors has been installed; the other 17 blocks are free of intersections or merging traffic.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Wednesday for the new North Side Gospel Assembly of God Church on Boutin Drive, next to Heartland Care and Rehab Center; the church was started in 1959 at 1029 S. Benton St.

1971

A variety of business comes before the Cape Girardeau County Court in the morning, but nothing causes as much discussion as rural roads; from all parts of the county complaints about impassable roads are coming in, brought on mainly by wet conditions coupled with sudden thawing of the ground.

State Rep. A. Robert Pierce Jr., R-Cape Girardeau, says he is seeking information as to why the Cape Girardeau Zone of the State Highway Patrol is understaffed; the inquiry follows reports in The Missourian that the zone presently is three men under authorization; patrol officials say another man will be added April 1, but there is no immediate plan to further ease the shortage.

1946

Hampered by dense smoke which fills the upper part of the structure, firemen fight for 30 minutes to the noon hour before bringing under control a fire which does heavy damage to the Church of God Mission, 421a Broadway, and through water which streams down below, to fixtures and equipment of the P&G Tire and Supply Co., owned by Tom R. Gold and R.B. Potashnick, on the ground floor.

State College was formally given authority over the weekend by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to occupy certain facilities at Harris Field for the housing of veterans who plan to attend the college and their families; buildings secured are the 12 barracks structures, the cafeteria, ground school, recreation and hospital buildings; the latter three will be made into apartment structures for families.

1921

If a plan proposed last night at a meeting of St. Marks Lodge No. 93, A.F. & A.M., comes to fruition, Cape Girardeau will soon have a DeMolay Order, a fraternal order for boys between the ages of 16 and 21 years old; the order would be sponsored by the Masonic Lodge here.

A campaign to dispose of $5,000 worth of stock in the Cape Girardeau Baseball Association, to be made a permanent organization by the purchasers of the stock, gets underway; funds raised would help establish a first-class baseball team for the city.

-- Sharon K. Sanders